Fishing kelp banks for cod at night is one of my favourite challenges — the tide smells different, the headlamp cuts through the darkness and every bite feels earned. Deadbait is my go-to when the water cools and cod move onto the weed to feed. Over the years I’ve refined a simple, robust...
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How-To Guides
I’ve spent more early mornings than I can count sitting on slick rocks in...
Tackle Reviews
I’d been fighting kite-tailing for months on exposed pebble spits before I...
How-To Guides
I walked the pontoon at low tide the first time I noticed how lights change...
How-To Guides
I fish a lot of soft sand for sole around the Welsh coast, and over the years...
I walked the pontoon at low tide the first time I noticed how lights change everything. Under marina lamps the estuary becomes a corridor of silhouettes and suspended life — fry and shrimps schooling in the glow, small crabs skittering along...
I fish a lot of soft sand for sole around the Welsh coast, and over the years I’ve refined a simple shore rig that presents a whole lugworm exactly how the flat fish like it — low, drifting naturally with the tide, and sitting just off the...
I remember the first evening I tried the 6in sabiki on an ultralight spinning reel: three quick rattles of the rod and the surface exploded with mackerel. What had previously been a slo-mo parade of single grabs and missed opportunities suddenly...
Winter cod in shallow kelp bays can be maddeningly localised. I’ve lost count of mornings where I sit on the rocks watching kelp fronds barely move, thinking there’s nothing happening — then, after a well-timed chum slick, the bay comes alive...
I watch kelp the way some anglers watch lines on their reels. On exposed rocky points where pollack hunt, the subtlest ripple, the way a frond flips or the direction of a kelp "stream" can tell me where a fish is lying in wait. Over the years I've...
I fish estuaries a lot for bass, and low tide is one of those quiet windows where the cunning ones show their true colours. Over the years I’ve learned that changing the profile of a soft plastic at low water—sometimes subtly, sometimes...
I fish long, exposed beaches across Wales, and nothing beats the confidence of a clean, strong braid-to-mono shock splice when you’re casting heavy baits into a stiff onshore wind. Over the years I’ve tried loads of methods — knots, sleeves,...
Peeler crab is my go-to winter bait for rays. When the water cools and the rays move in close, nothing matches that sweet, oily scent and the soft, yielding texture of a well-prepared peeler. The trick is not just buying good crab, but handling it...
Why I map exit corridors before the tide takes the shoreI’ve had a few too many heart-stopping moments on tidal ledges to treat exits as an afterthought. When the sea comes in fast and the rock goes slick, it’s the exits you’ll thank yourself...
Winter in Wales brings cold water, clear tides and hungry cod pushing into bays and kelp beds. For me, peeler crab is one of the most reliable baits for getting bites from big winter cod — if it’s prepared and presented correctly. Below I share...